Welcome! "What's Happenin'?" is a casual community diary (a daily series, 8:30 AM Eastern on weekdays, 10 AM on weekends and holidays) where you can hang out, talk about what is going on with you, listen to music, talk about the news and the goings on here and everywhere.
Maybe you have seen some news stories that you think are not receiving enough attention and you'd like to post links to them. Maybe you'd like to just chat among friends about your life, your health, your family or social circle, your pets, etc. You can also post links to your own writings here on dkos or elsewhere. Perhaps you want to share some pictures or music or links to other things. This is your kind of place to talk about what's happening.
Just about anything goes, but attacks and pie fights are not welcome here. If that is what you want, find another place to do it. This is a community diary and a friendly, peaceful, supportive place for people to interact. This diary series is produced by the TeamDFH group but anyone who wants to join in peaceful interaction is welcome.
Good Morning!
|
Drop in any time of day or night to say hello. |
News
Scary stuff...
Is this really the end?: Unless Germany and the ECB move quickly, the single currency’s collapse is looming
EVEN as the euro zone hurtles towards a crash, most people are assuming that, in the end, European leaders will do whatever it takes to save the single currency. That is because the consequences of the euro’s destruction are so catastrophic that no sensible policymaker could stand by and let it happen.
A euro break-up would cause a global bust worse even than the one in 2008-09. The world’s most financially integrated region would be ripped apart by defaults, bank failures and the imposition of capital controls (see article). The euro zone could shatter into different pieces, or a large block in the north and a fragmented south. Amid the recriminations and broken treaties after the failure of the European Union’s biggest economic project, wild currency swings between those in the core and those in the periphery would almost certainly bring the single market to a shuddering halt. The survival of the EU itself would be in doubt.
If we weren't fighting this stupid war in the first place, Pakistan wouldn't have had anything to fire at, and we wouldn't have needed to respond.
Afghans Say Pakistan Fired First in NATO Attack
As Pakistan's top leaders gathered Sunday to bury 24 Pakistani soldiers killed by NATO airstrike, Afghan officials said Pakistani forces fired first and challenged the Pakistani claim that the helicopter attack was unprovoked.
As U.S. military, Pakistani forces and Afghan officials sought to piece together the deadly and destabilizing incident, three Afghan officials said the attack took place in response to fire from the remote Pakistani base.
Two Afghan officials working in the border area where the attack took place said Sunday that the joint force was targeting Taliban forces in the area when it received fire from the Pakistan military outpost.
Color me skeptical. Won't these sanctions also have a negative economic impact on the states enforcing them?
Arab League to Vote on Sanctions Against Syria
Arab League foreign ministers are meeting in Cairo Sunday to decide whether to impose sanctions on Syria in response to the Syrian government's deadly crackdown on an opposition uprising.
The top diplomats of the 22-member league are considering a series of sanctions recommended Saturday by the regional bloc's finance ministers. The proposals include freezing the assets of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his aides, barring them from visiting Arab League members, stopping commercial flights to Syria and suspending cooperation with the Syrian central bank.
Approval of such measures would be a blow for Syria, which has long prided itself as a bastion of Arab nationalism. Arab League sanctions also would add to the pressure on the Syrian economy from eight-months of anti-government unrest and U.S. and European Union sanctions on exports of Syrian oil and other products.
Another Occupy showdown looms.
Occupy LA deadline comes, many say they won't go
The protesters whose tents line the lawn of Los Angeles City Hall made it clear that they received the eviction notice issued by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Whether they'll heed it is much less certain.
With hours left before the Monday at 12:01 a.m. deadline the mayor and the police chief gave for Occupy LA, very few of the occupiers were packing, and many were instead were making plans for what to do when they stay.
Some handed out signs Saturday mocked up to look like the city's notices to vacate, advertising a Monday morning "eviction block party."
Mitt Romney has a sad.
Gingrich coup: Endorsement from NH's largest paper
New Hampshire's largest newspaper on Sunday endorsed former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in the 2012 GOP presidential race, signaling that rival Mitt Romney isn't the universal favorite and potentially resetting the contest before the state's lead-off primary Jan. 10.
"We are in critical need of the innovative, forward-looking strategy and positive leadership that Gingrich has shown he is capable of providing," The New Hampshire Union Leader said in its front-page editorial, which was as much a promotion of Gingrich as a discreet rebuke of Romney.
"We don't back candidates based on popularity polls or big-shot backers. We look for conservatives of courage and conviction who are independent-minded, grounded in their core beliefs about this nation and its people, and best equipped for the job," the editorial said.
But at what price? The Teahadists won't extended unemployment benefits without a price.
Advocates for jobless expect lawmakers will extend benefits
Advocates are optimistic Congress will extend federal unemployment benefits before the end of the year despite the supercommittee's failure.
A supercommittee package had been seen as the most likely vehicle for the unemployment benefits scheduled to expire at the end of the year.
A package would have represented a compromise between Republicans seeking to cut spending and Democrats who wanted to provide some stimulus for the economy.
Rick Ellis responds...
The dangers of relying on common sense (or why Crooks & Liars is wrong)
First, despite a lot of snarky comments about my journalism skills, none of these people have contacted me with questions. I've had a few comments on twitter and several emails, all of which I've answered. But the same people who thought I needed a source that was willing to go public had no problem asserting all sorts of idiotic motives to my pieces without speaking to me.
SNIP
This piece also argued, "Hey, where are all the follow-up pieces?" I hesitate to be snarky, but seriously, stories like this play out over a period of weeks and sometimes even months. If I wanted to just post theories or unsourced material, I could writing about this every day. You will hear more about this--from me and from other probably better-known reporters--but it's a complex story that deserves a solid block of reporting. A few days without breaking news doesn't mean the story is wrong. If anything, it means there is lot here to digest and confirm.
I don't mind the criticism, but when it comes in pieces that don't offer anything other than opinion and some links to other pieces, I can't take it too seriously. The Crooks & Liars piece (like lots of other things being written) relies on the "well it doesn't make common sense" argument. The problem is that argument only works if you know all the facts.
Wow: “Schizophrenia is the best thing that ever happened to me."
Finding Purpose After Living With Delusion
She was gone for good, and no amount of meditation could resolve the grief, even out here in the deep quiet of the woods.
Milt Greek pushed to his feet. It was Mother’s Day 2006, not long after his mother’s funeral, and he headed back home knowing that he needed help. A change in the medication for his schizophrenia, for sure. A change in focus, too; time with his family, to forget himself.
And, oh yes, he had to act on an urge expressed in his psychotic delusions: to save the world.
Scientists say fish hooks go back 42,000 years
Humans were expert deep-sea fishermen as far back as 42,000 years ago, hauling in tuna, sharks and barracudas, new research suggests.
Fish appeared in the human diet about 1.9 million years ago. Early catchers waded into freshwater lakes and streams without the need for boats or complex tools. It wasn't until later that humans decided to ply the ocean in search of fish.
The latest evidence comes from an excavation on the southeast Asian island of East Timor where remains of tuna and other deep-water fish were uncovered inside a cave. Using dating techniques, a team led by archaeologist Sue O'Connor of Australian National University determined the age to be 42,000 years old — making it the earliest evidence for ocean fishing.